Fated Blades series
Fated Blades series by Steve Bein. Genres and Sub-Genres Urban Fantasy blended with Historical Fantasy and Japanese lore. * Police procedural–and a very good one–with lengthy historical passages that flash back centuries ago to recount the origins of three legendary swords that resurface * Its hard to put a genre label on this book. It can be called a contemporary fantasy or a historical thriller with a supernatural bent. Series Description or Overview This book is divided into nine sections that take place is various time eras; the first one is set in the 22nd year of the Heisei era or 2010 C.E. The first story thread is about Mariko Oshiro, the only female detective of the elite Tokyo Metropolitan Police department and her constant struggle in gain respect among the eyes of her peers. She is assigned to a simple probable robbery case wherein she meets professor Yasuo Yamada, who clues her in to the mystery regarding the Inazuma blades. The Second thread is set in 124th year of the Kamakura era or 1308 C.E. and focuses on Saito Toshiro a samurai in the service of lord Asikaga Owari-no-kami Jinzaemon. The story focuses on what happens when he comes across a special Inazuma blade and the carnage that follows. The Third story jumps to the 20th year of the Azuchi-Momoyama era or 1587 C.E. and centers upon Okuma Daigoro who is bequeathed his father’s sword upon his death and wonders at the reason behind it as familial tensions arise due to that single decision. Lastly the fourth story is set in the 17th year of the Showa era or 1942 C.E. and Kiyama Keiji is the narrative force. A young lieutenant in the Military intelligence wing of the Japanese army, he strives to do right by his country in the time of World War II. He comes across a young girl Hayano Shoji who clarifies the nature of things around him and his sword and sets him on his path to redemption. This is the main gist of all the four stories occurring in this book, the first thread has five sections devoted to it while the third one gets two sections and the second and fourth has one each. ~ Fantasy Book Critic Lead's Species * PolIce Detective Primary Supe * Magic swords of legend What Sets it Apart * Japanese Lore and Historical flashbacks Narrative Type and Narrators * Type: Third person * Perspectives: Mariko, Fuchida Shuzo, Saito Toshiro, Hisami Toshiro, Okuma Daigoro and Kiyama Keiji Books in Series Fated Blades series: # Daughter of the Sword (2012) # Year of the Demon (Oct 1, 2013) # Disciple of the Wind (April 7th 2015) Shorts, Anthologies and Guides * 0. "Only a Shadow" (2012) ~ eSpecial-Short, 59 pages * ?. "Beautiful Singer" (2003) ~ set is 1308 (first story published, genesis of series) Themes * Sword Legend * Path to redemption * The nature of things in the world around one World Building Setting * Tokyo, present day — Mariko Oshiro & Yasuo Yamada * Heisei era or 2010 C.E — * 124th year of the Kamakura era or 1308 C.E — Saito Toshiro * Azuchi-Momoyama era or 1587 C.E — Okuma Daigoro * Showa era or 1942 C.E — Kiyama Keiji Supernatural Elements ✥ mystic, magic swords of legend; samurai, ninjas, evil curse centuries old, ancient iron demon-mask, mystical relics, cults, Glossary: * Inazuma blades: blades are rumored to have magical qualities, crafted by Master Inazuma, legendary sword smith. * Beautiful Singer: Inazuma blade owned by Fuchida Shūzō * Glorious Victory: the second of the Inazuma blades * Tiger on the Mountain: Inazuma blade, dwells in the fortress of Hirata Nobushige * Demon Mask: cursed mask has been twisted by power over the centuries—curse bound to Mariko's blade. 'Groups & Organizations': * Tokyo Police department: where Mariko Oshiro works as a detective * Japan’s elite Narcotics unit: Mariko Oshiro has been promoted to the unit * The Wind: underground syndicate—for centuries, they have controlled Japanese politics from the shadows, using mystical relics to achieve their nefarious ends * Yakuza crime syndicate: World Behind story threads that all focus on the various characters are the Inazuma blades that ascertain their characteristics from time to time. Thereby often swaying the characters and the trajectories of their lives. This mystical aspect of the blades is never overtly explained but things happen too much in concert for it to be labeled as simple coincidence. The man, Fuchida Shuzo, trying to steal Professor Yasuo Yamada's sword already owns another Inazuma sword—one whose deadly power eventually comes to control all who wield it. Or so says Yamada, and though he has studied swords and swordsmanship all his life, Mariko isn’t convinced. The places and times shown in this book are presented very precisely. The details of samurai ways and Japanese culture along with minutiae about swords and sword fighting are interspersed generously throughout the story. ~ Fantasy Book Critic Swords & Artifacts ✥ Beautiful Singer: Inazuma blade owned by Fuchida Shūzō; possessed by a slain geisha; also a character—she has a goal and she tries to bring it about, and other characters ignore that fact at their peril. ~ One Sword to Rule Them All ✥ This all started with “Beautiful Singer,” set in 1308, which is the heyday of Japanese sword-smithing. Beautiful Singer is already 200 years old by then, which is why Master Inazuma is the world’s finest sword smith: it took 200 years for the greatest masters just to catch up with him. ✥ Divine Victory Unsought: (Year of the Demon, Fated Blades #2) Okuma Diagoro is a Samurai who lives in the late 1500s. He inherited the sword, Divine Victory Unsought, from his father. The sword will help the wielder win every battle—as long as it is an honorable fight and not for glory. ~ Good Books and the Random Movie ✥ Glorious Victory: We come across the second of the Inazuma blades, in 1587, which is smack in the middle of the most turbulent era in Japanese history. Japan goes from being an unruly mob of fiefdoms to the unified country. ✥ Tiger on the Mountain: legendary blade, crafted by the master sword smith Inazuma, and reputed to possess magical powers. In 1442 Japan, the sword dwells inside the impregnable fortress of Hirata Nobushige, the enemy of the Iga clan. ✥ Ancient mask has its own secrets, and some of them are tied to the Inazuma blade that Mariko carries. Apparently, the mask has been so twisted by power over the centuries that its owners are gripped by an obsession to acquire Inazuma steel. ~Book Obsession It's evil curse is bound to Mariko’s own sword. ~ GR Protagonist: Mariko who's trying to fight chauvinism in her department and help professor Yasuo Yamada with his quest and the mystery regarding the. Mariko’s investigation of the Inazuma blades and stopping the man trying to steal them has put her on a collision course with a curse centuries old and as bloodthirsty as ever. She is only the latest in a long line of warriors and soldiers to confront this power, and even the sword she learns to wield could turn against her. ~ Fantasy Book Critic She finds out the blade is one of three forged by the legendary Master Inazuma, whose swords allegedly contain magic. Mariko also learns the secret history of Inazuma’s magical swords as she begins to believe she is the latest chosen warrior using one even as the power threatens to destroy her. ~ Genre Go Round Mariko is tough, as any women working in the misogynistic environs of the police force in Japan would have to be. But she never uses her gender as a weapon, wanting more than anything to be seen as an equal to her male counterparts. Her strength comes not from supernatural gifts or even from her eventual training from a renowned sword master, but from her dogged determination to see things through despite the obstacles placed before her. ~ 52 Review Book Cover Blurbs ✤ BOOK ONE BLURB—Daughter of the Sword (2012): Mariko Oshiro is not your average Tokyo cop. As the only female detective in the city’s most elite police unit, she has to fight for every ounce of respect, especially from her new boss. While she wants to track down a rumored cocaine shipment, he gives her the least promising case possible. But the case—the attempted theft of an old samurai sword—proves more dangerous than anyone on the force could have imagined. The owner of the sword, Professor Yasuo Yamada, says it was crafted by the legendary Master Inazuma, a sword smith whose blades are rumored to have magical qualities. The man trying to steal it already owns another Inazuma—one whose deadly power eventually comes to control all who wield it. Or so says Yamada, and though he has studied swords and swordsmanship all his life, Mariko isn’t convinced. But Mariko’s skepticism hardly matters. Her investigation has put her on a collision course with a curse centuries old and as bloodthirsty as ever. She is only the latest in a long line of warriors and soldiers to confront this power, and even the sword she learns to wield could turn against her. ~ Goodreads | Daughter of the Sword ✤ BOOK TWO BLURB—Year of the Demon (Oct 1, 2013): Detective Sergeant Mariko Oshiro has been promoted to Japan’s elite Narcotics unit—and with this promotion comes a new partner, a new case, and new danger. The underboss of a powerful yakuza crime syndicate has put a price on her head, and he’ll lift the bounty only if she retrieves an ancient iron demon mask that was stolen from him in a daring raid. However, Mariko has no idea of the tumultuous past carried within the mask—or of its deadly link with the famed Inazuma blade she wields. The secret of this mask originated hundreds of years before Mariko was born, and over time the mask’s power has evolved to bend its owner toward destruction, stopping at nothing to obtain Inazuma steel. Mariko’s fallen sensei knew much of the mask’s hypnotic power and of its mysterious link to a murderous cult. Now Mariko must use his notes to find the mask before the cult can bring Tokyo to its knees—and before the underboss decides her time is up. ~ Goodreads | Year of the Demon (Fated Blades, #2) ✤ BOOK THREE BLURB—Disciple of the Wind (April 7th 2015): When Tokyo falls victim to a deadly terrorist attack, Detective Sergeant Mariko Oshiro knows who is responsible, even if she doesn’t have proof. She urges her commanding officers to arrest the perpetrator—an insane zealot who was just released from police custody. When her pleas fall on deaf ears, she loses her temper and then her badge, as well as her best chance of fighting back. Left on her own, and armed with only her cunning and her famed Inazuma blade, Mariko must work outside the system to stop a terrorist mastermind. But going rogue draws the attention of an underground syndicate known as the Wind. For centuries, they have controlled Japanese politics from the shadows, using mystical relics to achieve their nefarious ends—relics like Mariko’s own sword and the iron demon mask whose evil curse is bound to the blade. Now the Wind is set on acquiring Mariko. Mariko is left with a perilous choice: Join an illicit insurgency to thwart a deadly villain, or remain true to the law. Either way, she cannot escape her sword’s curse. As sure as the blade will bring her to victory, it also promises to destroy her. ~ Goodreads | Disciple of the Wind (Fated Blades, #3) Category:Series